Blinking, I looked at her, my mouth agape. No sound left my lips as I watched her. I didn't know how to react to the revelation because it seemed like my brain wasn't working perfectly. She placed her right palm on my cheek. Looking into my eyes, she smiled. “I know it will take you a long time to come to terms with this, but you need to know that I'm not lying. I'm indeed your mother or a fragment of her soul.”She looked so sad that I didn't realize what I was doing until I had my palms on her cheeks. Smiling, she placed hers over mine. “I stayed alive all these years, waiting, hoping to see my daughter before I finally meet my ancestors. You don't know how much I had waited for this day to finally hold you and tell you who I am.”“You are my mum?” My voice was barely a whisper. I was still trying to wrap my head around everything she said, to tell myself I wasn't imagining it. The low bulb in the room cast a glow around, highlighting the sharp features of her face. At that momen
My mates tried so hard to console me, but I was inconsolable. I couldn't grasp what happened. One minute I learned my mother was still alive, posing like an aunt, just so she could see me one last time, and the next, she was gone. It hurts. More than when I realized I wasn't human. I was unable to come to terms with the pain. This one was deep in my soul, eating me out. “It's okay.” Fred patted my back, placing a kiss on my hair. “Your mum won't appreciate this, you know, right? She will want you to be strong, too —”“Strong?” I peered up at him with puffy eyes. “How do you expect me to be strong when I just lost my mother?!” I know it wasn't his fault, but I couldn't help but yell at him. I just wanted to let everything out, to ease my mind of the burden. “We know it's difficult,” he continued, patting my hair. He didn't even flinch when I raised my voice at him. Instead, he smiled. “We will be your strength if you don't have one. You can lean on us. We will forever be your shield
We conducted a funeral two days later. My mates wanted to make it a public festival, but I refused. I wanted it to be a private one. I knew my mum would, too. As I was the only one of the royal line who survived, she would want me and those close to me to escort her to the river, where we would say our final goodbyes. Only 5 people attended, which worked well for me. As her body disintegrated, my mates had to return to her place to get some of her belongings, which we laid in the coffin. The ceremony was short. There was no priest. I did everything while my mates carried the coffin to the river after the ceremony. Chrys and Chris joined us as we set the coffin on fire and pushed it into the sea. As it went, I burst into tears. It dawned on me as I watched the burning coffin that I would never see my mother again, at least not in this world.As I stood between my mates, I bid my mum the last farewell until the day we finally meet at the other end of the river, again. .....“Who di
Devon arrived as he promised, and my mates took him into the study. For close to an hour, they stayed in there, interrogating him about his plans. I stayed outside with Chris, who was undoubtedly fed up with me as we tried to listen to their conversation. It was fruitless, though. As the room was soundproofed, we couldn't hear anything from out there. Had my mates not checked on me when I entered the study with my mum, I would have likely cried until all the tears dried in my eyes and none of them would have known what was going on. “What do you think they might be discussing in there?” I asked Chris, who was leaning on the wall, with her arms folded and a bored expression on her face. I knew she didn't want to be here with me, seeking to listen to other people's conversations, but she had to be. Since she pledged her life to me and offered to be my guard until death do us part, she had been keeping to her promise, unless she knew I needed space. “What else but how to get rid of yo
BELLAFred's eyes narrowed on me with an intensity that made me self-conscious. The vast blue of his eyes dilated as he took a step forward, his jaw getting taut as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Who said you aren't sexy?" he repeated in a murmur like he was waiting for me to mention a name so he could haul the person's head to me as a souvenir. "Nobody," I said, my eyes going to the floor as my heartbeat accelerated. Even as I humoured the thought, I couldn't help but reflect again on the image that stared back at me in that mirror. It was like a faintly distorted version of myself, somehow worse than the last time I remembered looking at my reflection. There were slight hollows beneath my eyes and an endless mar of my once supple skin. How could anyone call it beautiful? "Your eyes are as beautiful as ever," Blue said, digging out my thoughts as he stood on the other side of Fred. "I could swim in that sea of blue forever." Fred was the first to get to me. His fingers t
BELLA "Ah, Fred..."Aside from my moans, the room held a quiet, almost sacred stillness, like the study walls were sheltering us from the world. I sank further into the chair moaning softly as the soft leather cradled me. Fred's fingers moved into me tortuously slow, pushing in just enough to touch that sacred spot, and pulling out far enough to leave me gasping for more."Fred, please," I begged even though I had no idea what I was begging for. He stopped for a moment and knelt beside me, his hand resting on my abdomen with a comforting weight. His eyes met mine, glowing, soft, and full of something I couldn't correctly decipher. Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to the curve of my belly. His fingers traced the soft lines of my waist, exploring with care that sent a flutter through me. His hand, strong but careful, held me with reverence. As his fingers pressed deeper, I felt myself lose track of everything around me.Blue was behind me, his touch gentle as he brus
When I got up this morning, I noticed two things. Okay, scratch that. Not when I woke up, more like when I wanted to have my bath. The first thing I detected was how big my stomach looked to have gotten. It seemed it added more than an inch. With how big it was at the moment, I couldn't see my toes. Then the second was the mark on my stomach. It was a moon-shaped orange mark that hadn't been there before. It looked to have materialized overnight. “Arkyn, Tyrell!” I screamed their names. A few seconds was all it took for them to barge into the bathroom, looking around as if seeking an intruder that might be hiding in the shadows. “What's wrong?” Blue asked, giving me a once-over, his eyes lingering on my chest. “Why did you call us by those names? Is everything okay?”“Not at all.” I pointed at the mark. “What is this?”Puzzled, my mates walked over to me and leaned down to study the mark. They stayed that way for a few minutes before they lifted their gaze to me, shaking their head.
“You want to do it? Now?” I frowned. “Aren't you a little dressed up just for a conversation?” I pointed out, looking at him once more. He blushed, glancing down at his clothes before he lifted his gaze. “I had to dress up since I'm meeting the queen. I didn't want to seek disrespect.”“You didn't have to do it.” I sat up, biting back the pain that threatened to escape my lips at my action. I didn't like how much this pregnancy was affecting me today. He must have noticed my discomfort because he took a throw pillow from the couch he was sitting on and walked over to my side. “Permit me to serve you, my queen.”I nodded, not saying a word because I knew a painful moan would be the first thing I let out. Bowing to me, he placed the pillow behind me. However, instead of walking back to the couch he was sitting on, he knelt in front of me. “I can help you, my queen,” he offered, answering my questions without me voicing them out. “How?” I managed to let the word out without moaning i